Nortal Spotlight: Jayme Brock

How did you get into software engineering?

“I got my computer science degree because I always knew I wanted to go into STEM. I took all types of STEM classes like physics and biology, but once I took a computer science class – I got hooked.”

What were the first technologies that you worked with when you got into software?

“My first programming language was Java, but all my jobs have been very DevOps and engineering oriented. I have been using Google Cloud for three years and now my current project has me using Amazon Web Services.”

Which technologies are your favorite to work with? Which ones are your least? 

“All infrastructure-as-code tools. I love Terraform and Ansible tooling because of my DevOps background, so I have a deeper appreciation for those technologies. Getting to create code that builds tangible things and has a clean process is interesting to me.”

Can you walk us through a typical day on your current project?

“I’m currently on an eCommerce project where our goal is to setup an environment on AWS. My day-to-day at this project starts with a standup in the morning, then I build infrastructure and write code, and do code reviews.”

Which traits do you think are the most important for success in software consulting?

“I’ve only been in consulting for two years, but communication with people is the best skill to have. You need to be able to interpret client and coworkers needs. Also, being able to talk to different audiences is crucial – one minute I am talking to business executives and the next I am talking with highly technical developers.”

What does an ideal project look like for you?

“I really want to work on a project from start to finish. It would be interesting to see when the project starts in the sales engineering process to when we deliver to clients. It also might be interesting to work with a new cloud provider or technology that I haven’t before, since I like learning new things.”

What is the most challenging aspect of your job? What is the most rewarding?

“The most rewarding aspect of my job is the constant problem solving. The most challenging is context switching when I’m on multiple projects at a time. I try to give the same level of expertise to each client, so it’s a balance.”

What advice can you give to somebody looking to get started with their software engineering career? Looking into consulting?

“The biggest thing I’ve noticed is that people outside of the industry think software engineering is harder than it is. I encourage people to try something small first and to not be so intimidated. There are a lot of free resources online that you can take advantage of.

For consulting, you definitely need ample software development experience. I started consulting much younger than a lot of team members at Nortal, so it’s helped me progress in my career quickly due to the new technologies and business problems I am exposed to.”

What has been your favorite project to work on so far?

“I really like the project I am on now because it is the first one that introduced me to a new cloud provider. I was the sole engineer on the project for about a month so I had to learn quickly. It was also nice having the ability to test and try new things independently. There’s always a few different ways to go about solving a problem, so getting to create solutions on my own was a great learning experience.”

What’s your favorite Nortal memory?

“I really liked a going away party we had a couple months ago because it felt like everyone was connected. Even though people were leaving the company, it felt like more than somewhere you go to spend eight hours each day.”

What’s your favorite hobby outside of work?

“My favorite hobby is snowboarding because it’s a great way for me to relax and learn new skills.”

If you want to learn more about Jayme you can visit her LinkedIn. To find out more about life at Nortal head to our website.